Blacktail Deer Plateau [j] the night's watch

Prior to this moment, Peregrine might have flung caution to the wind and mouthed off to Hawkeye, unable to control his temper. Presently, he remained still and silent during her reproachful speech, feeling much too giddy about Crete's presence to let it get to him. Even mentally, he didn't berate or refute her, just urged her to finish what turned into a rather long soliloquy. He nodded gamely at the end, likely surprising her.

"He's my brother," were his only words in his own defense and they weren't even said brusquely. He gave Crete a fond sideways glance. Hopefully Hawkeye would understand what he meant and that his behavior stemmed from his fraternal urges to protect Crete and keep him near at hand.

Hawkeye turned to address Crete directly and Peregrine remained mum until she turned back to him. "It's Crete. I didn't know you were mostly deaf," he added, wondering if that was why she hadn't objected to his foul language before; maybe she hadn't really picked up on it? Eyes gliding between the two, he observed aloud, "Well, aren't you two just made for each other?"

Relieved to have his brother officially welcomed into the ranks, Peregrine thought he ought to explain what brought Crete here on his brother's heels. "Our dad died a few weeks ago and Mo—our mom—decided to retire. In their stead, our older brother, Tyrannus, rose to power. And, well, he decided every other male in the pack was a threat to this throne and he kicked us all out without a second thought." His ears flattened to indicate his displeasure.

"I actually expect some of our other litter mates may eventually appear too, as a result of Tyrannus's rampage," he concluded, giving Hawkeye fair warning that she might experience a flood of Redleaf-DiSarinno wolves—at least one of which would be yet another young bachelor.